THE TAG, I’M IT! Daily Journal and Practice

Tag, you’re it! What will you choose to do with the opportunity of each day? What love, joy, and blessings from this day would you like to remember?

I created this journal practice in two versions (a year-long TAG, I’M IT!AND a three-month TAG, I’M IT! ). Both will ground you in two important habits: keeping your focus on appreciating and celebrating the good in your life and intentionally accomplishing what matters most to you.

You’ll also create a record of your most meaningful, happiest events and experiences. The year-long TAG, I’M IT!AND three-month TAG, I’M IT! journals provide a simple yet meaningful way to recap and celebrate the very best of each day of your life. The practice of writing out your “T’s” (things you’re thankful for), “A’s” (actions you can acknowledge yourself for), and “G’s” (gifts you’re grateful for) is a transformative one, especially combined with the final step, I’M IT!, in which you intentionally choose three do-able, most-important-to-you actions you’ll take the next day.

Start your journal—or restart, if needed—whenever you like. (Though a new year is a perfect time!)

An introduction with tips and ideas will help you make this practice your own. Soon, you’ll notice that you’re living your days with more joy, presence, purpose, and intention.

be consciously thankful every day for the good in your life
(and the gift of getting to be alive)

acknowledge that, even on the least productive, most difficult
days, you accomplished at least a few things that mattered
to you, and most likely someone else as well

keep a record of (and savor!) the most uplifting “gifts” of your day,
including stuff like an email from your brother praising something you wrote,
a warm smile from a stranger as she held a door open for you,
the cup of coffee your husband brought you as you were working,
the compliment paid you by a friend, etc., as well as actual, physical gifts
you may have received

read a hand-selected, thought-provoking or inspiring quote each day

choose three small, do-able, most-important-to-you things to accomplish the following day

Got an email from Catherine F: “TAG!! This made me think of the wonderful work you are doing with WordPlay and sharing your creative ways of living with intention and gratitude.” Her words were followed by the January 13, 2019 edition of Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, titled “Tag, You’re It.”

And here’s what was in that Sunday Paper:

Shriver shared that she was “really moved . . . and inspired” by Jeff Bridges’ acceptance speech upon winning the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards. In his speech, Bridges told a story about walking into director Michael Cimino’s office the day before the filming of the 1974 crime film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot:

“I said . . . ‘Mike, I’m sorry but I think you made a terrible mistake. I’m not feeling this guy at all, I feel so inadequate. I’m giving you late notice, I know. Please fire me.’ And he looked at me, and said, ‘Jeff, you know the game tag?’ I say, ‘Yeah.’ He says, ‘You’re it.’

I said, ‘What do you mean I’m it?’

And he said, ‘You are the guy. You couldn’t make a mistake if you wanted to. The life of this character is coming through you, it’s a done deal.’

I said, ‘Oh, all right, that’s a wonderful vote of confidence and a great perspective to look at this thing.’ And I used it, of course, in that film and all the other movies that I’ve done, as well as my life. I’ve been tagged.”

And then Bridges went on to say, “I guess we all have been tagged! We’re all alive right here right now, this is happening.” Shriver followed her recounting of Bridges’ speech with these words: “I really loved Bridges’ authenticity. . . . And, I agree with him. We are all ‘tagged.’ We are all ‘it’ in the game of life. We’re ‘it’ not just because we are alive, but because we all have the power to chart our own paths. We all have the power to steer our lives however we choose.”

What a gift Catherine’s email was to me! The timing was incredible. I was doubting myself, doubting whether this TAG, I’M IT process would be of value to other people, and, voila, here came this inspiring affirmation. I hadn’t known about Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper. If Catharine hadn’t thought of me when she read it and cared enough to take the time to send it on to me, I wouldn’t have read Shriver’s words or listened to Jeff Bridges’ acceptance speech and felt so encouraged.

Dr. Sara Rose, Ph.D., is a national board-certified and licensed professional counselor operating in private practice in Charlotte, NC. Her work aims to help individuals live happier, healthier lives with her unique approach to therapy and counseling. She graciously featured me on RoseCast, not once, but twice!

And here’s a little background about how TAG, I’M IT! came into being:

i created the TAG, I’M IT!daily journal last January so that I would have the exact format I wanted for this daily practice I’ve been using on and off for many years. The practice itself grew and developed from its beginnings as two separate lists—one a synchronicities list inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, the other a gratitude list inspired by Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance. Years after that, a course for entrepreneurs by Christine Kane propelled me into keeping these lists nearly every day. Over time, this process expanded, and I got tired of writing my headings over and over. I kept envisioning the format I wanted, and finally realized I could make it myself!

I’ve been delighted to hear from WordPlay clients and students and friends (and friends/family members of students and friends)—and even complete strangers via Amazon reviews—that other people are finding this practice makes a real difference to them, too.

On Thanksgiving, in The Daily Word (a small daily devotional I use), I saw the perfect words to describe TAG, I’M IT!: “As my day winds to a close, I take time to appreciate and celebrate each moment of the day that has touched my heart.”

What a gift it is to engage in this appreciation and celebration on a regular basis! Both the year-long TAG, I’M IT! journal and three-month TAG, I’M IT! journal make great gifts. And the process is even richer when shared with a friend or loved one.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUTTHE TAG, I’M IT! DAILY JOURNAL AND PRACTICE

I am not a person who has been able to journal on a regular basis, however this journal fits my needs perfectly. It incorporates the categories that I review in my thoughts at the end of the day – things I’m grateful for, things I accomplished, and plans for the next day. The blank space at the top provides a place for me to put everything in context or maybe a title of sorts. Lastly, the verses and quotations are a welcome inspiration.

~ Tere

Thank you to Maureen Ryan Griffin for creating TAG I’M IT.

TAG, I’M IT is my new best friend. It’s a guided writing journal that helps me sort through the mental travels of my day. And it helps me zero in on the special moments by reflecting, acknowledging and saying thank you for the invisible gifts collected in my daily journey.
“TAG” gives me joy. And it gives me a sense of peace. It helps me discover the small and large wonders around me.
“TAG” sits on my night stand – it’s my last conversation of the day. And I feel satisfied when I turn off the light. When I write in my TAG, I’M IT journal, I’m giving myself a gift.
What a treasure!

What I enjoy about this book/journal is how easy it is to use. It brings to our attention the importance of being in gratitude but, more than that, it helps us to acknowledge and mark our progress, encouraging us to be kind to ourselves, rather than critical. Similar to keeping a journal, but easier, it helps us to recount the “little” day-to-day happenings that are true gifts designed to remind us of our true purpose for being here.

~ Roberta Bolduc

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WordPlay Success StoryMeet Kim Love Stump

“Maureen’s guidance is bringing my dream of being a writer to life—one assignment, one class, one submission at a time.”

"Providence. Serendipity. Synchronicity. Whatever you prefer to call it, I experienced it when I signed up for Writing to Heal with Maureen Ryan Griffin in 2010. I chose the class, not because of the subject matter, but in spite of it. I wanted to take a writing class and the time worked best for my schedule, that was all. At least that's what I told myself.

In reality, I was carrying a constant weight of sadness from my mother's death two years earlier. Through the course and Maureen's tutelage, I experienced writing that healed my heart. The course was structured around writing about our personal pain or loss, but not just about that. Maureen encouraged me, and all of us in the class, to write about a variety of subjects and to try all kinds of writing: prose and poetry, lists and letters. By the end of the short course I felt as if the vise that had a perpetual grip on my heart had been unwound. I could breathe again.

Since that first class, I have participated in eight WordPlay "Under Construction" sessions. This has provided me with inspiration and encouragement, as well as laugh-out-loud fun and joy. It has also been very productive. I have completed a young adult fantasy novel, A Clearing in the Forest, that I have wanted to write for over a decade. Maureen's guidance is bringing my dream of being a writer to life — one assignment, one class, one submission at a time."